卷首語
作者：
The cure for anything is salt water—sweat， tears， or the sea.
—Isak Dinesen
I am completely， 100％ terrified of the ocean. Why？ Well， seriously， have you seen the things that live down there？ One episode of BBC’s Blue Planet is enough to make my skin crawl for weeks. And I almost drowned the one and only time I ever tried snorkelling because a school of fish ran straight into my face， so I screamed—underwater. Not so clever， I know. But despite my phobia， I’ve always had a morbid fascination with the oceans. The Vancouver Aquarium used to be a regular haunt of mine， and I continue to dream of one day being brave enough to try my hand at SCUBA diving.
And what of others？ With recent happenings in the world—like sea levels rising and Japan’s tsunami—I may not be alone for much longer in my fear of the ocean. It’s a powerful thing. And it’s huge. Like， 70％-of-the-world huge. But should we see it as a grizzly menace or embrace it as a friend？
First up this month， in Beauty and Serenity of the Ocean， we take a look at the peace that can be brought to us from these beautiful， shining seas. And it’s not just peace， but also prosperity that finds us through the water， as Amazing Ocean Resources shows us. Although we need to always be aware that the oceans are not ours to abuse， as The Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch reveals we are already doing. We need to respect and protect these cradles of life， and even before science came along to tell us this， there were the ancient tales of merfolk to lend awe to our vision of the oceans. Mermaids： Facts or Fantasy tells us a little more about this.